Successful with Disney? Ask these stars to see

For decades, the American studio weighed and its successes are countless. But when he misses, he does it well too. These actors still remember.
Leslie Nielsen, Jennifer Garner and Malcolm McDowell in “Mr Magoo”
To put it simply, it’s a 91-minute film based on a single joke. So now, it seems a bit short . You see Leslie Nielsen protagonist doing the clown and it’s heavy. So that Disney had to swing a prevention message like “No no we do not make fun of the blind or visually impaired … It does not mean they are unable to find work, raise a family …”. Financial level, a loss of $ 10M. It’s still going.

Christopher Walken in “The country bears”
A young bear lives in a family and runs away, feeling unwell. Then he meets others. All these bears are a group that plays country, they make egg concerts, they speak … Mouai. Positioning problem: too much for children, too childish for adults. In short, too reloo to look. A cost of $ 35M for revenues equal to $ 18M. Not even half, we start typing in the big chess category there.

Christian Bale and Robert Duvall in “Newsies”
The subject, however, was interesting: the strike of newspaper delivery children in New York in 1899. The proof, it will be taken again for a spectacle that will carton to Broadway. Directed by choreographer (Kenny Ortega), with known and talented actors, the film had many reasons to hope for success . And yet: $ 15M budget, for only $ 3M picked up. It stings. Well, the same year (1992), Disney burst out with Aladin so no big deal.

Jacky Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Owen Wilson in “Around the World in 80 Days”
A “free” adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, it was a bide. We like Jacky Chan, but from there to see him play an Asian (so far so good) who pretends to be a French (it’s already bad) called Passepartout (it does not go any more) … And immense pride, two French have carried high our colors: Cécile de France and Michaël Youn. Ah bah it was said free adaptation eh, so there is no limit.

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in “The Lone Ranger, Birth of a Hero”
O surprise, it was not Tim Burton who realized it. Surely a friend, suddenly. As it seems, Disney was expecting a new “Caribbean Pirate”, in Western mode. Huge means are put ($ 225M), and not just for Mr. Depp’s Indian costume. Not to mention the $ 115M in marketing expenses. Finally ? A bide, tens and tens of millions of lost.

George Clooney and Hugh Laurie in “Tomorrow land, In pursuit of tomorrow”
It must have been turfu. The title, the theme, the genre. Everything was there. Bam, $ 330M budget (production and marketing combined), Mr Nespresso and Dr House: a guaranteed success. What else? The film brought back a hair more than $ 200M. That is $ 130M loss. Still. I say no more, I let the trailer talk.

Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston and Dominic West in “John Carter”
Another adaptation that went wrong. That of the novel “A Princess of Mars”, by Edgar Burroughs. Apparently, too free … We see a human in a world populated by aliens, and yet it is he who seems to have supernatural powers . Short. To make it short, Disney lost $ 200M on that one and his then manager, Rich Ross, had to resign. When you slam $ 350M on a film, there is a slight pressure of nothing. Who is one of those who dropped 10 € to see one at the cinema?